Province responds to calls for pipeline safety review

First Nations are claiming credit for new steps put into place by the provincial government to address pipeline safety concerns.

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, Dene Nation, Keepers of the Athabasca, which includes the Fort McKay First Nation, and the Indigenous Environmental Network were among over 50 organizations to participate in a campaign urging Premier Alison Redford to “initiate an immediate independent province-wide review of pipeline safety in Alberta.”

The call for an independent safety assessment of pipelines followed a series of recent spills in the province over a two-month period that involved a number of different oil and gas companies, including Enbridge Inc., which is currently working to gain support for its Northern Gateway Pipeline project.

The organizations grew from the 16, which launched an advertising campaign chastising Redford for “relying on luck” when it came to pipeline safety, to 54 which signed the open letter to the premier urging action.

Those numbers continue to grow, said Eriel Deranger, spokesperson for Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

“And it’s not the usual suspects,” she said, pointing out that the make-up of the voice of opposition joining First Nations includes environmental proponents, professional associations and landowner groups. “When you have that much of a voice and a diverse population being represented in a call for something, the provincial government would be totally remiss in not recognizing that and addressing the issue.”

Shortly after the open letter was sent to Redford, the province announced that the Energy Resources Conservation Board had been directed to retain an independent third party to examine elements of the province’s pipeline system. Energy Minister Ken Hughes said the new pipeline safety review would run in conjunction with the current incident-specific investigations the ERCB is conducting.

It’s a step in the right direction, said Deranger, but she questions the role of the ERCB in the process.

“ERCB is part of Alberta’s pipeline problem and shouldn’t be overviewing the pipeline safety review,” she said.

With thousands of kilometres of pipeline laid in the 1940s and ‘50s, Cameron Alexis, former Grand Chief of Treaty 6, said review of the safety of those pipelines is required.
“At that time there was not a systemic approach to consultation with Aboriginal groups and there is now,” he said.

On the heels of the province’s announcement, Enbridge said it would spend up to $500 million on the Northern Gateway Pipeline as a means to address safety concerns that have been voiced. Dual pipelines are to stretch between the oilsands in northern Alberta through the British Columbia interior to a terminal near Kitimat, BC.
Enbridge says its new design would increase the thickness of pipe walls at river crossings. Enbridge also says it would increase the number of inspections it does by at least 50 per cent and staff pumping stations in remote locations around the clock.

Deranger doesn’t believe Enbridge’s proposed new measures will make a difference.

“I think all that means is that a spill is a little further away in the future,” she said.

In light of the spills recently experienced by pipelines operated by Plains Midstream Canada and Pace Oil & Gas, as well as the number of lines operated by Kinder Morgan and Alliance, Alexis challenges them to “come up front and centre and maybe perhaps acknowledge that they also need to strengthen their lines…. There has to be enhanced safety procedures and mechanisms put in place.”